Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers (and eight-game preseason)

Tyler Johnson #8 of the Miami Heat shoots during a preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers at American Airlines Arena on October 21, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

MIAMI — The next time the Heat take the court for a game, it will count.

Miami (4-4) finished off its eight-game preseason schedule with a 113-110 loss to Philadelphia on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat open the regular season Wednesday in Orlando against the Magic.

Dragic was sharp, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 26 minutes.

Here are our five takeaways from the Heat’s eight-game preseason …

1. Final roster spot still undecided: Shooting guard Rodney McGruder, and point guards Briante Weber and Beno Udrih are the three players competing for the 15th and final spot on the Heat’s roster. With Monday’s deadline to cut the roster to the regular-season maximum of 15 players looming, Miami doesn’t have much time to decide which one to keep. McGruder played 14 minutes (most of them coming in the first half) before exiting the game in the third quarter with a jammed left middle finger. He scored three points on 1-of-3 shooting and grabbed one rebound before leaving the contest with the injury. Meanwhile, Weber and Udrih didn’t enter the game until late in the third quarter. Weber finished with three points and four rebounds in 14 minutes and Udrih finished with six points and two assists in 15 minutes. McGruder became the favorite for the final roster spot after scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds Thursday against the Hornets. But if Miami cuts Weber and Udrih to keep McGruder, Goran Dragic will be left as the only true point guard on the roster. The Heat have a tough decision to make this weekend.

As for McGruder’s jammed left middle finger, coach Erik Spoelstra said the X-ray came back negative. Spoelstra added that McGruder “should be fine” and he probably could have returned to the game if he needed to.

2. Get ready for a lot of three-pointers: The Heat didn’t attempt many three-pointers last season. That’s going to change this year … for better or worse. Miami finished last season ranked 28th in the NBA with 18 three-point shot attempts per game. After an offseason makeover that brought more three-point shooting to Miami, the Heat entered Friday’s game ranked seventh in the NBA with 29 three-point shot attempts per game this preseason. And expect that trend to continue when the real games start. The offseason acquisitions of Luke Babbitt (career 40.3 percent 3-point shooter), Wayne Ellington (career 37.6 percent three-point shooter) and Dion Waiters (made 35.8 percent of 3-point shots last season) give the Heat offense a different look. How different? Miami shot 41 three-pointers against the Hornets on Thursday. That matches the most three-pointers Miami has ever shot in a regular season or playoff game in franchise history — April 10, 2013 vs. Washington.

“It is a symbiotic relationship with our spacing and our three-point shooting, and that is helping our attacks and our attackers are helping our three-point shooters,” coach Erik Spoelstra said before Friday’s game. “I have no problem with us shooting 41 threes if they’re open threes and they’re the right threes.”

3. Starting spots not set: The Heat finished the preseason without a set starter at shooting guard or power forward. Erik Spoelstra continued to experiment with his starting lineup against the 76ers on Friday, starting Wayne Ellington at shooting guard and Luke Babbitt at power forward. So how many starts did the candidates get at each position during the eight preseason games? At shooting guard, Dion Waiters made four starts, Tyler Johnson made two starts, and Wayne Ellington made two starts. At power forward, Derrick Williams made five starts, Luke Babbitt made two starts and James Johnson made one start. If Spoelstra goes with the players he started the most at each spot this preseason, Waiters and Williams will be in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Magic.

Ellington left Friday’s game in the second quarter with a right quad contusion and did not return.

“He has a decent bruise already on his leg,” Spoelstra said. “I imagine he’ll be pretty sore. We’ll have to keep an eye on him. I don’t think he’ll be doing anything the next couple days other than treatment and ice. He took a pretty good hit.”

4. Tyler Johnson can be used as backup PG: There were some questions whether Tyler Johnson could play the point, but he’s answered them with his efficient ball-handling this preseason. The score-first guard is turning into an effective combo guard right in front of our eyes. Johnson finished the preseason with a crazy good assist-to-turnover ratio with 14 assists and three turnovers. This is an encouraging development for the Heat because it will give them room to put their five best players on the court. With a log jam at shooting guard – Dion Waiters, Josh Richardson, Wayne Ellington and Johnson – the Heat can give Johnson more minutes if he’s also able to serve as Goran Dragic’s backup at point guard. This will also free up minutes (minutes that Johnson would have otherwise taken) for the other shooting guards. The $50 million investment Miami made in retaining Johnson this offseason is looking better by the day.

5. Heat have two reliable centers: Everybody knows about the Heat’s $98 million man — Hassan Whiteside. But Whiteside’s backup is attracting some attention, too. Willie Reed, who the Heat acquired through free agency this summer, opened some eyes with his play this preseason. The 26-year-old Reed averaged 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in the preseason and will be a part of Miami’s rotation to start the season. The scouting report on Reed is that he needs work offensively. But Reed showed good hands and an ability to finish around the basket with 41 points over the final three preseason games. That’s not bad for a player on a two-year deal at the veteran’s minimum.

“Willie Reed really came in and showed Heat Nation that he’s a really good player,” Whiteside said. “He came in and brought energy. He dunked a couple times, which I liked. He blocked a couple shots, which I really liked. He has a bright future.”